60 projects found from 1.1.2011 to 31.12.2011

Create Space for Youth

Ever since 1920, it has been the goal here in Ensdorf to ensure that the local children and youth have a good future. Your team will be helping this year to make sure this happens through various renovation tasks. The area in front of the Jugendbildungshaus needs to be renovated to be appropriate for youth. This includes building a sitting area, a labyrinth, an area protected from the sun with trees, a space for outdoor activities, etc. Here, your abilities and creative side will be needed. Your team will additionally work with biotopes and the forest as well as renovate a few rooms in the house. Outdoor clothing and sturdy shoes are required and important for the work.

Accomodation & food:

You will be accommodated on the cloister grounds, and share rooms in the Haus der Begegnung (www.kloster-ensdorf.de/hausderbegegnung). Meals will be prepared as a group.

Leisure:

The old Ensdorf Cloister is in the Oberpfalz region between Regensburg and Amberg. This camp offers many free time activities, such as beach volleyball, a water park, a chapel, a park with a cable course, bars, canoes, music instruments, bikes, foosball, ping pong, billiards, etc. The area has a good hiking path network, the Naturpark Hirschwald, and you can even go for a canoe ride. There are pools 2 km and 14 km apart. Amberg has a historical city center as well as good gastronomical and cultural offerings. You can also take trips to nearby Regensburg and Nuremberg.

On the Trail of a Medieval Fortress

The Waldeck Fortress is one of the oldest fortresses in the Oberpfalz region. The Heimat- und Kulturverein e.V. in Waldeck and the city of Kemnath have decided to free the ruins of the fortress, which burned down in 1794, and restore them according to memorial protection rules. You will have the chance to work with the 7th stage of construction, and a special part of this is finding the walls of the Aegidiuskirche. Your team will need to free wall ruins, find and measure graves and other finds as well as document your work. You will get a peek into this field of work and will help with cutting the wild plant growth away.

Accomodation & food:

Your team will sleep in a gym with a kitchen and will sleep on cots. Meals will be prepared as a group.

Leisure:

Waldeck lies in the Oberpfalz region. Here, you will find places to discover, such as the Volkssternwarte in Tirschenreuth, the Naturpark Steinwald, a climbing wall, and you can hike through the geologically rich region. You can also visit the cities of Kemnath and Weiden, or take a trip to the Czech Republic. The camp leaders as well as locals will help you organize trips. Further information can be found at www.markt-waldeck.de; Stadt Kemnath - www.kemnath.de; Geopark Bayern (Oberpfaelzer Kegeltour) - www.geopark-bayern.de/Public/Radtouren/GeoRadTour1/GeoRadTour1.htm; Naturpark Steinwald - www.naturpark-steinwald.de; www.friedenfels.info/html/klettern.html

Requirements:

Sturdy shoes and rain clothes are required. You should be interested in memorial protection.

Lohra castle

All projects of Open Houses are based on a sustainable principle. Also on Lohra castle the work will be balanced between natural and cultural fundamental ideas. On one hand the volunteers will repair and restore the castle buildings and on the other hand there will be a lot of work in the green area around the property.Open Houses attaches great importance to renewable energy. Under this aspect the volunteers will go into the forest and collect and cut firewood, which they find on the ground. The group will also bring the wood from the forest to the Castle. Therefor they need to load up the wood to a truck and unload it on the Castle to store it a under a roofed place for wintertime.In addition to that the volunteers will take care of the green areas around the castle, as well as for the close-by nature protection area. For example the garden needs to be digged up and to be cleared of weeds. Further more the group will correct roadway damages by filling holes with gravel to make it possible to reach the castle on a proper street. Another work will be to dig wholes for waterpipes to renew the old watersystem on the Castle. The volunteers may also pick fruits like cherries, plums and apples in the meadows around the castle for their common meals and to produce self-made fruit juice.Please be informed, that the work will take place in all weathers. So please bring rain jacket and waterproof shoes.On the weekend before the camp, 20th August, there will be a historical Middle Age Festival on the Castle, celebrated by a partner organisation. The volunteers are invited to join this festival and arrive earlier to Lohra Castle. Because there is still another camp, places to sleep will be rare. Therefor we would ask you, if you want to arrive for the Party, to bring definitely a termal mat and sleeping bag. You should be fine with very simple sleeping conditions.Notes: What to bring: working gloves and strong waterproof shoes, appropriate clothes, rain jacket, sleeping bag

Accomodation & food:

ACCOMODATIONWithin the old service buildings of the castle, you will stay in four little houses with 2-, 3- and4-bedrooms with showers (limited hot water) and toilettes. The equipment is simple but fair.The fully equipped kitchen, which is situated next to the accommodation houses, is aseparate building with large tables and benches inside. The atmosphere is rustic and historic.FOODThe meals will be prepared together as they are part of the community life, what means thateverybody will be responsible for the meal at least once during its stay. So it would bevery nice if you could bring typical recipes from home in order to introduce each other to thepreparation of food from all over the world.

Location & leisure:

Lohra Castle is situated in the heart of Germany in Northern Thuringia. The castle, which is surrounded by a scenic hilly landscape, is located on the edge of a nature reserve area. Being one of the largest castles in Thuringia, the history of the castle Lohra begins in the Middle Ages. The castle is more than 1000 years old. Today, it includes 20 buildings from different times: medieval fortifications, remnants of a tower from the 11th century, a roman chapel, a manor from the Renaissance period as well as stables and granaries from the 19th century. The ensemble is situated in the centre of a beautiful forest. From the top of the buildings you will have a wonderful view over one of the most impressive landscapes of Germany: the Harz Mountains. For years Lohra Castle was vacant. At the beginning of the 1990s Open Houses started to restore the castle and to revive it by cultural activities at the beginning of the 1990s. Since that time, a large number of art-workshops, exhibitions, concerts and international meetings took place in the castle. The castle is situated next to a nature protected area. You can explore the landscape by foot;worth seeing is the chapel in Munchenlohra. Excursions to Sondershausen, Muhlhausen orNordhausen will be discussed once you arrived.

Halle

Your help is needed in the following areas: Manual work inside of the building: the continuation of the interior construction, plastering, painting, lay out of the green area and playgrounds. The work is guided and accompanied by social workers and craftsmen. It is foreseen that you will work eight hours on four days of the week, including two hours break.

Accomodation & food:

The project will provide food and accommodation, your help will in kitchen and cleaning the dishes will be welcome. We sleep inside the house in beds ore mattresses. Each participant should bring a sleeping bag and a sheet. In exceptional cases, a sleeping bag can be provided.

Location & leisure:

Various leisure times are possible. It is organized and partially funded by the institution, which are partly as a variable offer for the group. - Hiking in the surrounding area, excoursions in Halle, the city of Handel and the salt boilers, including a visit to the salt museum, Handel House, Beatles Museum and a youth recreational facility, possibly Disco, to go swimming.

Requirements:

Important are sturdy shoes and outdoor clothing for hiking and a backpack. It can be cold and rainy in Germany, even in summer.

Colour, Mosaic, and Fresh Sand

A diverse set of activities awaits you in this camp We would like to build a beach volleyball court in our Jugenduebernachtungshaus and tent camp. Here, the old sand must be removed and with the support of a company, a new field will then be laid down. Other renovation and maintenance tasks on the grounds of the center, such as building a mosaic. The house will also receive a new coat of paint, and the group will help choose the colours before we paint the walls with environmentally friendly paint. You will also help a carpenter with renovating tables and laying hard wood floors.

Accomodation & food:

You will stay in the Uebernachtungshaus with 4 bed rooms. For further information please see www.kjr-erh.de Meals will be prepared as a group.

Leisure:

The Kreisjugendring will be helping the group to arrange free time activities. You will have access to a minibus for excursions in the area. The cities of Erlangen, Nuremberg, Bamberg, and Wurzburg also offer many activities. We would also like to take you climbing in Switzerland and see the various historical buildings in the area. In Vestenbergsgreuth there is a slide and a beer garden. In the house there are games, foosball, table tennis, and internet. Pools in the area can also be reached with the bus. The bus cannot however be used alone, but only with permission from the group and the group leaders. This camp is rurally located.

Requirements:

Work may be physically challenging at times. Sturdy shoes are needed. The public transportation connections are poor, therefore it may be hard to get out of the area.

Experience Diversity in the Oase

The eighth workcamp in Loessnitz is a cooperational project run by the Jugendbegegnungsstaette OASE Loessnitz (Blue Cross Germany) and the Naturherberg Affalter (NABU). You are invited to spend the next two weeks with us experiencing natural diversity through tasks such as maintenance work inside and outside of the Naturherberge. These jobs include taking care of the animals, caring for and renovating the garden, mowing and maintaining the lawn, redoing walls and pathways around the building, as well as running a program with local students. You will be staying in an open youth center, where you will have the opportunity to get to know the local youth. You can play sports with them or simply talk about them and learn about the area. Smoking and alcohol consumption are not allowed inside or outside the center in order to offer a place free from these influences.

Accomodation & food:

You will be staying in the Jugendbegegnungsstaette OASE. Meals will be prepared together, and while working outside you will receive lunch packets.

Leisure:

There are many interesting opportunities to spend your time in and outside of the OASE. You can take excursions to local cities, mines, as well as to Dresden and Leipzig.

Ollendorf water castle

On all houses of the property, the volunteers will do small renovation works like corrections of the timber-framed construction, repairing old doors or varnishing wooden constructions. Furthermore the group will clean up the Castle site and bring it to a proper appearance. In addition to that the volunteers will take care of the green areas around the castle, like mowing the lawn, cleaning the surrounding castle moat or digging up the garden and clear it of weeds. Another work will be to dig holes for the new canalization connection. There will be an excavator, but the machine will not have access to all the spots that need to be moved.Notes: What to bring: working gloves and strong shoes, appropriate clothes, sleeping bag.

Accomodation & food:

ACCOMMODATIONvery simple; two rooms with mattresses in separate building, shower (warm water) and WC, kitchen in a neighbour buildingThe meals will be prepared together as they are part of the community life, what means thateverybody will be responsible for the meal at least once during its stay. So it would be very niceif you could bring typical recipies from home in order to introduce each other to the preparationof food from all over the world.

Location & leisure:

Ollendorf is situated between Erfurt (capital of Thuringia), and Weimar (European capital of culture 1999). The small village is surrounded by a beautiful countryside. The Ollendorf Water Castle was probably build in the 13th century as a protective fort at the via regia . The via regia , also called the King s highway, was the most important medieval route for commerce which ran West to East from Flandern via Frankfurt and Leipzig to Russia. In 1692 the Castle had been destroyed by a fire and only the foundations could resist. Today s manor-house was built in 1694 in a simple rural baroque style, replacing the former castle. Following the decline of the Via Regia in the 19th century, the site was chiefly used for agricultural purposes and store houses and barns were built. In 1813 Napoleon rested in the Ollendorf Water Castle while fleeing after the battle of the Nations near Leipzig. During the last decades, due to long vacancy, the manor fell into disrepair. Since 1998 Open Houses is active at the Water Castle and could safe it from falling apart. Many works has been done since than, also focusing on the renaturation of the castle s surroundings. Due to the young people, who have lived there and have taken part in its renovation since years, the castle is a place of creativity and open-mindedness. In a spirit true to its past as an inn, the castle will once again become a place where people come and go and where different cultures meet. Ollendorf is a good place to start excursions to important historical and cultural towns like Weimar and Erfurt which are nearby the village.

Under Construction II - Build a New Game House

The Erich Kaestner-Haus is run by the youth offices of the city of Gelsenkirchen. The youth center has a large yard with a soccer area and an amphitheater, as well as darts, foosball, ping pong, etc. You will be building a storage space for these games. First you must lay the cement foundation before beginning to erect the walls. Naturally a roof is needed, which your team will be building, accompanied by local experts. At the end, it will get a brand new coat of paint.

Accomodation & food:

You will be staying at the Bauspielplatz Ueckendorf. Meals will be prepared as a group.

Leisure:

In Gelsenkirchen you will find open air and indoor pools, museums, and bars. Due to its central location, Gelsenkirchen has good public transportation connections so you can travel to nearby cities such as Dortmund, Cologne, Hamburg, or even to the Netherlands.

Requirements:

The work may be physically challenging at times. A talent for working with your hands is of advantage.